Fulham,

it took me a while to find my original posts on this matter (p74) and I have been rereading them and their responses.

Whilst I stand corrected as to the existance of further articles, that fact tends to reinforce the fact that vdw did not publically renounce the Roushayd Method only the title of article that was given to it (Systematic Betting) which according to our correspondents he felt was not an accurate representation of the booklets contents.

I found rereading pages 70 -90 refreshing, if you havent done so recently give it a go. Am I wrong in feeling that as much as I sin, I am sinned against?

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Forward to "Systematic Betting by VDW"- by Tony Peach

One of the questions that I am always being asked is whether C.Van Der Wheil is a real person or just a newspapermans fantasy.

I suppose I could say quite honestly, that as far as I am concerned "The Flying Dutchman" is a bit of both !

He is certainly a man of flesh and bones, although even he must have had his doubts when he arrived all tattered and torn in England from Holland at a time when all this country could think about was "Thank God the 2nd World war with Germany is over at last."

But such was the consideration shown by our doctors and nurses that he survived and though his experiences left him somewhat tacturn and reserved, he could not disguise the fact that in spelling out the facts and figures on how to wager on horse-racing, he had something special to offer. So, yes I would be prepared to say that Van Der Wheil`s contributions to Raceform`s Sports Forum have been a success even beyond my wildest fantasy.

I have spent many hours in conversation with Van Der Vheil and always respected his confidences and honoured his anonymity. As a result Raceform readers are now in for a treat in the shape of "Systematic Betting."

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VDW life (closing pages)

IT is understandable that the young Che Van der Wheil should have made racing pay.
But in fact he made it pay TWICE.
Bom in Rotterdam, his family had many friends in the 'horsey' set and as a result, he
soon became interested in travelling over in the early Thirties from Holland to England
with a group of companions in readiness for the opening handicap at Lincoln's Car-
|holme, and then they would cany on to Newmarket, making their base at the nearby
Bury St Edmunds.
Why to England? Because there was a lot more action over here in those days.
Looking back at those times, it is obvious that Mr Van der Wheil travelled in fairly
affluent circles. But the Second World War changed all that, and pretty drastically too.

As a member of the Free Dutch Forces, the end of the war saw him recuperating and
penniless in Britain, facing the mammoth job of trying to earn a living and trying to
trace the remnants of his family back in Holland.
During his convalescence, he received half-a-crown a week. To younger readers that
is now the equivalent of 12 l/2p!

He became friendly with a male nurse who used to be a bookies' runner. It revived
his interest in racing and the half-crown was put on a horse that won. More success
followed and eventually and for the second time in his life VDW made racing pay.
But he has never classed himself as a professional backer.

This is what he told me:

I have never bet in what I consider big money. Four figures perhaps, but neverall in one Book. END VDW

THE AFTERMATH
(
Mr Van der Wheil has now retired from racing. But he still makes frequent visits
abroad, quite often to friends in the West Indies. All paid for by that half-a-crown bet
made almost 50 years ago!
I am indebted to him for this article given as a gift and I am sure that all his Sports
Forum friends will be delighted to know that I will be sending him a copy of the
finished book, along with all our good wishes for many more years happy retirement.
But I cannot let the book go without a final word from VDW:
This is what he wrote:

I HAVE thoroughly enjoyed the many years racing and can look back on lasting
memories of a complete life within a life that the sport provides. Memories of owners, trainers and jockeys, great races, events and friendships, but most of all the horses.
To single out one or two would be an injustice to the many hundreds that
endeared themselves to me. Obviously the monetary returns amassed must
play a great part having provided a lifestyle few are fortunate to enjoy. >r
If, in trying to put something back, just one person feels they have gained from my efforts, all has been worthwhile. Very few really make it punting, but the fact remains anybody could. Tools for the job can be provided, tuition inusing them can be given, but temperament is down to the individual. END
VDW

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Before I write another word, I must emphasise that I have never written under the
name of Che Van der Wheil. I have never met the man, but I am sure as anyone could
be that VDW's genuineness is beyond reproach.
I have found through continuous telephone conversations with countless readers, that
one can usually plumb the depths of the authenticity at the other end of the line. My
maxim has always been that confidence men have to have good memories and that
there is always a word or explanation, here or there, which doesn't ring true.
But one has to marvel at the way VDW was so accurate in his assessment of winners.
Again after many years of thinking and discussing the various articles he has written I
have come to the conclusion that one of the drawbacks of his methods is that they were
written by a man whose racing expertise dwarfed the newcomer to racing, and was
several rungs higher than the steps the likes of myself and most readers have climbed.
There is a mystery about him, of course, and to some extent that is because the
Sports Forum "information line" has never fathomed out his identity.
Over the years, if I ever wanted any gen on a system, I would put a paragraph in
Sports Forum and invariably I got a lead on it.
The only time this really failed was when I wanted to get in touch with Stewart
Simpson, whose book "Always Back Winners" had caught readers' imagination but I
drew a blank.
And I had followed several leads, for I was anxious for him to write for the page. So
I had to rue the fact that when he had rung me, while his book was being reviewed and
asked if there was any work going, I had had to say no, as we were on a tight budget at
the time.
Readers will remember that in Racing In My System, I mentioned that there was a a
paragraph that was worth a second perusal, for to my mind it carried a wealth of
meaning.
The words I am referring to were:
"The only things I know of which come for nothing are a smile,
a hug and a kind word. Indeed, none have any value until they
are actually given away".
I thought it was a strange allegory to be thrown away in a article really devoted to
racing. And one of the first things he made quite clear when he agreed to write for
Sports Forum was that he would not get involved in any slanging match.
I believed at the time that much of this was to do with the fact that he had been a
member of the Free Dutch Forces and had arrived in England penniless and hardly
wearing a stitch of clothing, but had been given a helping hand when most needed.
That deduction was a correct to a degree, I am sure, but I also now know that what he
had suffered while in the Free Dutch Forces was even more reason for his use of those
words I am referring to.
Those people who I have spoken to about VDWs articles will recall that when I was
asked whether VDW would write another book, they received a guarded answer. The
reason for that was that I was not sure whether I ought to ask him to do so.
One had to remember that VDW himself was gaining nothing by doing so, he had
put his money's worth into Sports Forum alone and his book "Systematic Betting"
which he wrote for the firm when it was taken over by Raceform had earned good
money for them. And then of course, he had written countless items for me, free of
charge.
But all that wasn't the real reason. As I have already mentioned, I found interviewing
Van der Wheil very difficult, and on several occasions I asked him something quite
innocently and a normal question for a journalist, and his voice would suddenly fade
away. He obviously found it hard to continue to talk. I consequently, always gave a
hurried apology, although I did not know what for, and quickly put down the telephone.

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I knew of course, that he often travelled to America for treatment of some kind. I
suspected it was to have a break from his work-load and to enjoy better weather, for I
also knew he did not spend much of the winter in England.
But on an afternoon in the early 1990's I rang him over a racing matter and when that
was finished I asked if he would write another book. He asked what about, and I said I
would love to visit him and write a book about his life in racing, and I then realised that
he was having difficulty talking.
But he managed to tell me that he had been asked to fly back to Holland during the
Second World War and had agreed and had been dropped in the occupied territory of
Holland, but had eventually been caught.
Then he shocked me by saying, in a voice that had become quite agitated and
unsteady that he had been taken to a concentration camp and named it.
I think he said it was Auschwitz and it is one of the camps the Dutch were
transported to, but I am not too sure, because I stammered my apologies, put down the
phone and walked back stunned to my desk, realising that he was still experiencing the
awful feelings of being interrogated nearly 50 years after it had happened. I didn't write
any of the conversation down.
I did not tell anyone in the office, and I never did tell anyone else except my wife,

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